Behind the Candelabra

My Life with Liberace

By: Alex Thorleifson, Scott Thorson

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

In this unusually frank book Scott Thorson, Liberace's longtime lover, tells all: the good, the bad, and the ugly truths about the legendary entertainer who went to outrageous extremes to prevent public knowledge of his homosexuality.

Liberace's unhappy childhood, dominated by a mother determined to force him into a concert career, serves as the prologue for a story that goes on to detail Liberace's early appearances in honky-tonks, his move to New York to seek fame, and, finally, his first booking in Las Vegas, where he was courted by the Mafia.

As Thorson attests, such successes provide a bright counterpoint to a darker tale of a man hungry for power, given to every excess. Liberace's credo - "too much of a good thing is wonderful" - is reflected here in his acquisition of new lovers, luxurious homes, a large collection of pornography, and a total of 26 house dogs.

Behind the Candelabra above all explores the fundamentally tender love affair between Liberace and Thorson - whom Liberace sent to his own plastic surgeon to have his face remodeled in Liberace's own image!

This fast-paced story, sprinkled with anecdotes about famous entertainers such as Michael Jackson and Shirley MacLaine, ends with an intimate look at Liberace's final days as he lay dying of AIDS - and his deathbed reconciliation with Thorson. Thorson's story will also appear in the upcoming biopic of the same name starring award-winning actors Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.

©1988, 2013 Scott Thorson with Alex Thorleifson (P)2013 Tantor

Surprisingly interesting

This book was not really revealing about Liberace, but it was about Scott Thorson which was interesting. I bought this as a bit of a joke, thought I would try it out, but was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The reason it was interesting to me was Scott Thorson's take on Las Vegas.

Very interesting read!

I really enjoyed this book. Liberace was larger than life and there's lots of examples here. It's too bad he grew up during a time when being gay was looked down on so much he couldn't be himself in public his entire life. Entertainers like Liberace don't come often. It's tough to judge when you only have one side of the story but I could see him being the way Scott describes him. Money can change people and make them very eccentric. I wish things had turned out differently!

Oh Boober

This was a delicious, fun, and sad story. I believe the love between Scott and Liberace was real and grew deeper the longer they were together. Fantastic but it is only one side of the story.

Wow! What a great book to listen to

This has been a great book to listen to! Scott Thorson seems to be very honest, and gives us quite a view of his life with Liberace. Full of interesting details and stories. A must read.

Eight hours of sheer yawn

I should have known better. I don't think there is anything here that we couldn't have gleaned from a tabloid over the years. This book reads like a full length tabloid article and although I was fascinated by the man after about 10 minutes I was asking myself 'Why am I bothering?' I'll get a refund and watch the movie.

I really don't like Scott Thorson

Back in the mid-eighties, a friend of mine who worked at a local restaurant (and knew I adored Liberace) tipped me off that they were staying late for a private dinner for Liberace, following a local performance. As rotten as it may seem to ambush the poor guy after a performance, I waited outside the restaurant hoping to meet him. When he came out, I approached him and, rather than being irritated, he just beamed ear-to-ear, thanked me for my kind words, gave me a big hug, and just wanted to talk and talk. Standing against the waiting limo, though, was a younger man who scowled at me with a weird white-hot intensity so obvious that, after ten minutes or so, Liberace laughed and said, "You'll have to excuse my companion. He wants to get home, he's exhausted from watching me work." Now, after listening to Scott Thorson whine throughout an entire book about how Liberace stole his innocence and treated him abominably and drove him to drugs, and how Liberace was so insecure that he fed on adoration from his fans (like me, I suppose) when he found those fans so very annoying, I know just who that younger man was. What a self-entitled jerk. I read a few more recent news stories about Thorson's lengthy jail sentence for credit card fraud and can't help but wonder if that's the fault of the long-deceased Liberace also? I am ashamed that I bought this book and donated further cash to this sugar-daddy-seeking hustler who feels that he didn't get enough of a free ride off Liberace while he was still alive, so extended it with this book after Liberace was dead and unable to defend himself.

Don't waste your time or money

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The story had no flow or rhythm. I couldn't decide if it was bad writing or bad narration or both.

Would you be willing to try another one of Peter Berkrot’s performances?

No.

Image Changer

My grandmother enjoyed watching Liberace on TV and I have vague memories of watching him with her. This book certainly changed the perception I had of that man.

hedonistic, excessive buying, no family unity

I could not finish this. I found no redeeming or good reason to continue to read about a life dedicated to buying more and bigger. I guess it's a book about a life completely out of balance and self centered.